“ALIPATO at Muog”, a film about desaparecidos, was given X rating classification by the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) despite the Special Jury Award during this year’s Cinemalaya Independent film festival.
“Kaya kami ay nakikiusap, please open your hearts and be the voice of the voiceless. Please stand for what is right and what is just. Because when that happens we can truly say we live in a democratic country where there is no censorship and there is freedom to express one’s thought without fear or favor,” according to JL Burgos, director of the documentary film “Alipato at Muog” (“Flying Embers and a Fortress”).
On August 22, 2024, the first reviewers – composed of three members of the board – disapproved the film from public exhibition “because it tends to undermine the faith and confidence of the people in their government and/or duly-constituted authorities.”
“I was hopeful that the search for my brother, Jonas, would turn a notch after the ‘success’ of the film … Morale was at a record high but those hopes were quickly dampened by the news that it was given an X rating,” JL said in the film’s official Facebook page.
The film received the Cinemalaya Special Jury Award “for its effective use of the resources of documentary cinema to shed light on an actual case of enforced disappearance and reveal dark truths about human rights in the Philippines.”
The film seeks to “uncover the hard truths” surrounding the enforced disappearance of peasant activist Jonas Burgos and other desaparecidos.
Jonas was abducted noontime of April 28, 2007 in a crowded mall in Quezon City. He was never seen again and the military has repeatedly denied any role in his disappearance.
As his family launched their search, a car plate brought them face to face with powerful forces.
Despite insurmountable barriers, anonymous informants have dropped leads and even provided the last known photo of Jonas in captivity. Edita, the 80-year-old mother, and her filmmaker son lead the long and arduous fight for justice.
The documentary film weaves the stories together to uncover the truths, however painful, about the brother’s disappearance.
“But how can justice prevail when the crime is committed by the very institution that is mandated to protect its people? Where does one even turn for answers? Telling Jonas’ story is telling the story of more than a thousand victims of enforced disappearance,” Jl Burgos said.
On February 2, 2014, the Supreme Court upheld the 2013 findings of the Court of Appeals which ruled that the military and the government are responsible for the disappearance of Jonas.
The United Nations (UN) Commission on Human Rights defined desaparecidos with three elements: (a) deprivation of liberty against the will of a person; (b) involvement of government officials, at least by acquiescence; and (c) refusal to acknowledge the deprivation of liberty or concealment of the fate or whereabouts of the disappeared person.
Data from the human rights group Karapatan and FIND indicated between 950 to 1,000 desaparecidos during the late dictator’s term, 821 during Cory Aquino’s presidency; 39 under Ramos’ term; 26 under the Estrada administration; 206 during Arroyo’s term; 29 during Noynoy Aquino’s administration; and 20 under Duterte’s term.
Jonas is one of the 206 desaparecidos under the Arroyo administration.
The Anti-Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance Act of 2012 was signed into law on December 21, 2012 by then President Noynoy Aquino III. The law makes the crime of enforced disappearance punishable by life imprisonment. The law treats enforced disappearances as a violation of human rights and a crime separate from kidnapping, serious illegal detention, and murder.
While most Filipinos fondly relive the memories of their dearly departed on All Saints Day and All Souls Day, families of desaparecidos have no closure nor graves to visit.
They have no graves on which to place lighted candles. Even after decades of looking for and not finding their loved ones, they cannot declare them finally and officially gone because there is no body.
“Obviously … the powers that be are again desperate to prevent public viewing of a film that tells the truth about the crime of enforced disappearance with such depth, and goes beyond Jonas’ abduction, but of many other activists as well,” Karapatan said, calling it the “latest example of state censorship” and a “blatant affront to freedom of expression.”
The film proceeded with its screening at the University of the Philippines (UP) Film Center on August 24 despite the public viewing ban.
It will also have additional screenings on August 29 and 30 to coincide with the “International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances” or “Desaparecidos Day” that is observed every August 30 annually since 2011.
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“Peyups” is the moniker of the University of the Philippines.
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Atty. Dennis R. Gorecho heads the Seafarers’ Division of the Sapalo Velez Bundang Bulilan Law Offices. For comments, e-mail info@sapalovelez.com, or call 09175025808 or 09088665786./PN
